Have you seen any of the sobering anti-texting-and-driving commercials for AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign? The heart-breaking videos of such unimportant text messages as “Yeah” (above) or “Where R” that drivers received during fatal or debilitating car crashes are enough to make me want to turn off my phone entirely while I drive, although I admit I’ve yet to take that… Read More >>

Life seems easy for NASA's Curiosity Rover. After landing on Mars on August 6, 2012, it blasted Will.i.am.'s new song Reach for The Stars (luckily, no neighbors complained), snapped some pictures, and watched a whole lot of these insane blue sunsets. And when it's not kicking up dust and being spied on from outer space, it's Tweetingto over 1 million fans. But could all of this fun be a cover for Curiousity Rover's… Read More >>

I can't believe it. After all these years of enjoying Tic Tacs, I was shocked to find out that I have been dispensing them the wrong way. The food news website foodbeast.com made a handy videoshowing the world that Tic Tac's signature container is actually quite functional. Normally I'd attempt to pour one into my hand and, as we've all experienced, would get several. But… Read More >>

Fed up with the "all or nothing intransigence" that is paralyzing Washington, Fortune magazine writers Geoff Colvin and Allan Sloan have come up with their own bipartisan plan to fix the economy.

Yes, I know, you've heard it all before. But this plan is different. For one thing, it's written in plain english, with almost no jargon, so you can actually understand it. For another, the authors' primary goal is "to give neither side everything it wants—to adopt policy so relentlessly bipartisan that it attracts strong, stable support from both sides."…

Besides cutting the defense budget and making Social Security pay-as-you-go (that sound you hear is the bellowing of sacred cows being led to slaughter), their plan would "restrict the end-of-life-care that Medicare will pay for," noting that 25 percent of all Medicare spending went for people in their last year of life. It would also "surcharge smokers and…

On the tax side, the self-described "congenital optimists" would phase out tax deductions for mortgage interest and charitable giving.

Yup, there's a lot to ponder here. Give it a read and tell us what you think.

Nathan Bransford is an author as well as a former literary agent. Which means that he's been on both sides of the publishing process. Now he's managed to capture the entire experience—from the birth of the idea to the arrival of the book in the hot little hands of the reader—in a series of animated gifs that is both hilarious and, remarkably enough…

I love the fall, but the moment I detected the crisp breeze and a certain je ne sais quoi in the air last night, I got a sad reminder that summer's end is nearing. Then I saw my co-worker's list of "10 Foodie Things to Do Before Summer Ends," and I snapped out of my funk and got re-energized with warm weather pep to knock these all off my gastronaut to-dos! A few of my favorites: • Upgrade your water: Place fruit in… Read More >>

Most movie dorks are doubtless quite familiar with The Criterion Collection, "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films" released in tremendously handsome, display-ready packaging. Now, design dorks are paying homage to this prestige brand and some of their favorite movies over at Fake Criterions, a Tumblr blog that showcases user-created Criterion covers. Some of the… Read More >>

Although the tradition of political conventions has changed greatly over the years—in the past, presidential nominees were actually chosen at conventions; today the events serve more as a coronation—they remain prominent stepping stones for both parties as the nation prepares for Election Day. It's too early to tell whether this year's Republican… Read More >>

Jazz artists study sheet music, expand on techniques and fine-tune their sound for years to develop even an iota of the talent that coursed through iconic trumpeter Miles Davis' veins. This door at a Chicago Navy Pier parking garage, however, simply needs a little grease. Last week, a YouTuber known as "Mr. King" uploaded a video of the door squeaking out a riff startingly similar to that which Davis…of… Read More >>

If you're like me and you need the occasional shot of pure inspiration, say hello to Marine Cpl. Todd Love. Todd says he was "just doing his job" when he stepped on a mine in Afghanistan in 2010. The explosion left him alive, but gravely injured—he lost both legs and his left arm in the blast. Hundredsof well-wishers welcomed him when he returned home injured to… Read More >>